Tuesday, October 16, 2012 —
This is the time within the high school football season that many teams are vying for their position in the state playoffs. What makes this such a challenge is that in North Carolina, teams in the 2A classification and above must win a minimum of four games in order to qualify for the playoffs.
As North Stanly entered Friday night’s home contest against their Rocky River Conference nemesis, the Piedmont Panthers, a Comets victory would put them into possible playoff contention.
Given this cross-county rivalry, North Stanly would certainly take great pleasure in beating Piedmont even in a snowboarding competition.
Therefore, since it has been since a 27-14 win on Oct. 23, 1992 that North had defeated Piedmont in football, winning Friday night would not only bring about solace but also great satisfaction to Comets Nation.
Sadly, that would not be the case for the Comets Friday night as they fell to the Panthers from Piedmont High School by a convincing margin of 40-3.
The Panthers did not make any spectacular plays in this contest tonight at the Jeffrey; they simply made plays and prevented North from doing so.
Piedmont’s defense was very stingy in their play tonight, holding freshman running back Antonio Williams to only 63 yards on 21 carries.
They also limited the Comets offense to a total of 97 yards and only 8 first downs while surrendering 413 yards to the Panthers offense.
Amidst the sea of pink tonight at North as October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, the Comets lone score came in the second quarter as kicking sensation Andrew Gibson booted a 34 yarder at the 6:36 mark. Gibson also averaged 53.5 yards on punts.
The Comets did give the Jeffrey crowd a big thrill by shocking everyone with an onside kick to begin the second half, which they recovered. Unfortunately, they would turn the football over on downs.
It should also be noted that the North Stanly Band gave outstanding pre-game and halftime performances. Future Comets players and cheerleaders were also featured as the North Stanly Youth Leagues were introduced.
“We got beat by a better team tonight. We just have to work harder and move forward,” Comets Head Coach Ralph Jackson said.”
The Comets will get that opportunity to move forward at 7:30 p.m. this Friday as they will face the Forest Hills Yellow Jackets out of Marshville.
P 6 13 14 7 40
NS 3 0 0 0 3
P – Fisher 3 run (kick failed), :26, 1st
NS – Andrew Gibson FG 34, 6:36, 2nd
P – Purser 15 pass from Baucom (Salley kick), 5:35, 2nd
P – Green 58 pass from Tripp (conv. failed), :03, 2nd
P – Gentry 46 run (Salley kick), 9:21, 3rd
P – Gentry 2 run (Salley kick), 6:17, 3rd
P – Baucom 5 run (Salley kick), 11:54, 4th
Team Stats
P NS
1st Downs 13 8
Rushing 34-252 39-71
Passing 161 26
C-A-I 6-11-0 3-20-0
Penalties 10-90 6-55
3rd Down 3-8 4-14
4th Down 0-0 2-2
TOP 19:20 28:40
Return Yds. 36 86
Individual Statistics
Rushing: P – Gentry 12-178, 2 TD; Fisher 8-26, TD; Baucom 6-21, TD; Tripp 3-7; Long 3-10; Barnette 2-10. NS – Williams 21-63; Lunsford 5-(-6); Caulder 3-(-7); Cox 3-5; Reed 3-8; Brunner 2-6; Crisco 2-3.
Passing: P – Baucom 4-9-0, 118 yds, TD; Tripp 2-2-0, 43 yds, TD. NS – Caulder 2-5-0, 13 yds., Lunsford 0-11-0 0 yds.; Crisco 1-4-0, 13 yds.
Receiving: P – Ivey 2-27; Gentry 1-23; Purser 1-20, TD; Lewis 1-58, TD; Greene 1-33. NS – Fesperman 2-13; Caulder 1-13.
Sports
Related Photos
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North quarterback Kasey Caulder avoids a tackle attempt during a recent home game. balfpix.biz
Discussion
North’s hopes of playoffs dashed in loss
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Stanly County Baseball / Softball Update
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Stanly County Baseball / Softball Playoff Update
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Stanly County Baseball Playoff Notebook
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South Stanly hosted a familiar opponent in East Montgomery, while Albemarle traveled to Central Academy in Monroe and West Stanly travelled to Randleman. -
Stanly County Softball Playoff Notebook
In the opening round of the state playoffs, the softball teams of West Stanly and Gray Stone advanced to the second round of the playoffs, while South Stanly was upset at home by Lake Norman Charter.
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Gray Stone soccer loses playoff game in overtime to Union Academy
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High School Soccer Playoffs
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Yadkin Valley Conference Baseball Tournament
The fifth-seeded Albemarle Bulldogs took to a soggy yet well-prepared North Moore High School baseball field on Tuesday night to take on No. 2-seed West Montgomery for the 2013 Yadkin Valley Conference tournament.
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High School Tennis Playoffs
The boys’ tennis season for the Gray Stone Knights continued this week as the Knights advanced to the 1A quarterfinals for the first time in school history.
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High School Baseball / Softball Playoffs
Six high school baseball and softball teams from Stanly County have qualified for their respective classification's state playoffs to start this week.
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Stanly County Baseball / Softball Notes
